Jeff%2520Ellis Archive

It is one of the biggest questions leading into spring training for the Indians: who should lead off? With the departure of Shin-Soo Choo in a trade, the Indians lost their best lead off option, and the IBI's Jeff Ellis breaks down all the schools of thought with regard to what kind of player should hit lead off before finally settling on an obvious solution to this question.

When the IBI's Jeff Ellis first heard that the Indians had signed right-hander Brett Myers his initial response was that he should be a guy who eats innings and not do much else. After spending all of last season in the bullpen Jeff and others kind of overlooked him as a starting option for 2013; however, after Jeff did his usual research he found that Myers could be a pitcher that adds great value for the Indians in 2013.

The IBI's Jeff Ellis missed the Nick Swisher press conference on the radio and TV on Thursday, but he followed it via Twitter and was impressed with the way his words sparked excitement and energy among the fans and media. He talks about how it was nice for once to have a player happy to come to Cleveland rather than cutting bait and leaving town like so many others have before him.

The Indians camp is buzzing at the signing of Nick Swisher. As the news settles on the newest member of the Tribe, IPI's Jeff Ellis takes a closer look at the potential improvement. Is Swisher truly better than the player he replaced in Shin-Soo Choo? Join one of our best analysts as he takes a closer look at the advanced numbers, and whether or not the Indians truly did improve.

Everyone loves the Trevor Bauer pickup for the Tribe, and it is obvious why. But the IPI's Jeff Ellis says not to sleep on the secondary pieces in this deal for the Indians. They were able to get four players in all who should play for the team next season and could all make the opening day roster.

There is a lot of buzz in the winter meetings that the Indians could deal All Star shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera for a collection of young talent to impact the roster in other areas of need next season. Jeff Ellis thinks the Indians should capitalize on Cabrera's value while it is at its peak as his career path is eerily similar to another former All Star middle infielder for the Indians who put up good seasons but battled conditioning issues before his career fell off a cliff.

The Rule 5 Draft commences a week from today out in Nashville, Tennessee. What kind of players are typically drafted and what levels do they come from? What positions are the primary focus of the draft, and what positions rarely get selected? The IPI's Jeff Ellis chimes in with his yearly Rule 5 Draft review where he analyzes all that and more.

When you think of the Indians "window" that was supposed to begin in 2012, what's lacking is a solid core of players acquired via the MLB First-Player draft. Our resident draft expert Jeff Ellis explores the Tribe's drafts over the years, and focuses in on just how bad the Indians did during the early 2000's to set this team up to win. Check out Jeff's thoughts and more on what happened, after the jump...

The IPI's Jeff Ellis is hunkered down in New York City in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, but that hasn't stopped him from looking at how the Indians can improve their roster this offseason. Earlier in the week he touched on President Mark Shapiro's use of WAR (wins above replacement) to evaluate the core players on the current roster, and this time around he looks at 12 free agents that the Indians might be able to sign this offseason using the same WAR approach.

This past week, Mark Shapiro gave a detailed interview in which he gave some insight into how he values free agent players with regards to the WAR statistic. This weekend, IPI's Jeff Ellis takes a detailed look at the current Indians' roster, and discusses who just might be a core player for the Indians future based on Shapiro's statements. Find out who they are, after the jump...

We are roughly eight months away from the 2013 Draft, but with the Indians securing the #5 pick in the draft next year IPI draft guru Jeff Ellis put together an early piece profiling the top seven players at the moment that are available in next year's draft. Things will certainly change with that top listing, but several of these players could be options for the Indians as they look to add more talent to an already improving farm system.

The Indians seem to own Sundays over the past few weeks, and yesterday wasn't any different as the Indians hammered the Kansas City Royals and Luke Hochevar by a score of 15-3. As the season enters its last week, Cleveland is showing some spark under the stewardship of Sandy Alomar, and Jeff Ellis provides some of his thoughts from the game.

A few weeks ago Jeff Ellis compared the Indians to the Reds hitter by hitter and using the highest ranking that player had achieved on Baseball America's top 100 list he tried to decipher if there was a rhyme or reason to prospect failure. This time around he looks at the pitchers for the Indians and Reds and uncovers several interesting things while coming to an obvious conclusion.

There's a lot of similarities between the Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds. Both are in-state rivals, and both teams use a similar economic model. Yet, despite the similarities, both teams have had very difficult results this season as the Indians have experienced an immense downward spiral while the Reds sit atop the standings as one of baseball's elite. In his latest, Jeff Ellis provides an in-depth look at both teams, using previous Baseball America rankings, to show just how much better the Reds really are.

Join us this week from 700 EST to 730 EST as Jeff Ellis is joined by Cleveland Fan writer Andrew Clayman. They will look at just how badly the Indians off season moves backfired. Is there any hope of contention for next year? A game of should they should not when it comes to player options and Free Agents. Who in AAA do you want to see this year, and many other topics So tune in and enjoy.

With the recent acquisition of Lars Anderson from the Red Sox, the Indians have stockpiled an amazing nine players from Baseball America's 2009 Top 100 prospect listing. But not all nine of those players have panned out and it just goes to show that prospects, even the highly touted ones, are simply just lottery tickets. Jeff Ellis breaks down all nine players in his latest.

There is really not a lot more that can be said about the Indians fall of late. It has been rough to watch, and has really made a lot of people question the Tribe. I think the biggest non story that this rough stretch has brought to my attention has been how Jason Kipnis has been awful since May. He was merely below average in June, but has been horrid since then.

The deadline has passed and we know who the Indians have signed and who got away. With that in mind, it is time to look at who of the 26 players drafted and signed have the best tools and the best storylines to get an idea of what things to specifically look for when watching these players as they come up through the minors. IPI draft guru Jeff Ellis breaks it all down in his latest...

There are big-time names out on the market that several teams will be looking at as the trade deadline approaches. Jeff Ellis will look at a couple of those names, but will throw out a few more that aren't being talked about at all. With the Indians struggling to find offensive help from the right-handed side of the plate, they'll have to get creative. Join Jeff to find out a few of those creative ideas...after the jump...

Major League Baseball created a new rules system for the 2012 major league draft that many are still trying to figure out. The Cleveland Indians went into the draft with a play. IPI's draft guru Jeff Ellis focuses his thoughts not only on the Indians top ten draft, but also on the rest of the best...and worst. Which team does Jeff think had the best draft in 2012? Check it out, after the jump...

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!